What happened to Falcao? Can he still triumph in Chelsea?

by Guilherme Neto

Even though Radamel Falcao‘s loan to Chelsea for the upcoming season isn’t fully confirmed yet, everyone believes it’s only a matter of days/weeks until the deal is made official. The Colombian is currently focused in the Copa America with the Colombian National Team and there shouldn’t be any further developments on his future until “Los Cafeteros” see an end to their campaign in Chile.

With that being said and having in mind the poor season Falcao has had with Manchester United in the past months, can we still expect to see Falcao‘s best version in his next adventure? The 29-year old forward, who is still under a contract with the french side AS Monaco, is about to be loaned for a full season for the second consecutive season and there a few skeptical minds who simply don’t believe that the Colombian will ever be able to get back to the level he presented in his prime time in FC Porto (2009-2011) and Atletico Madrid (2011-2013).

So where was the turning point in Falcao‘s career? When exactly did things started to go south for “El Tigre“? I will dare to say that his first mistake happened when he made his mind about moving to AS Monaco in the summer of 2013, precisely at a time where he was regarded as one of the best strikers in the world and with plenty of top clubs interested in his services. Let’s just say the French League and AS Monaco were far from being his best choice if we look at this strictly from a football perspective.

Radamel Falcao in Manchester United in 2014-2015

A few months after he had signed for Monaco, Falcao basically went through one of the worst nightmares a top-level footballer can have. On January of 2014 and with Brazil‘s FIFA World Cup already on the horizon, the Colombian star suffered a severe injury in his knee, as he tore his left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). It was the 3rd time in his career that he had problems with his knee, with the first two going back to the 2005-06 season, when he still played for River Plate in Argentina. This one, however, forced him to stop for roughly 8 months, miss the 2014 FIFA World Cup and seriously struggle to find his best form ever since.

He basically didn’t play much more for Monaco after that injury and ended up being loaned to Manchester United in the beginning of the 2014-15 season. There and under Louis Van Gaal‘s orders, the Colombian never really found his space and finished the season with only 4 goals in 29 appearances for the Red Devils. His very characteristic movement, his touch and above all, his confidence, were never even close of being the same that he used to have when he is on the top of his game. Some just blamed Van Gaal and his tactics, while others simply preferred to point out that Falcao is not the player he used to be anymore…

With his imminent arrival to Chelsea and a new manager like José Mourinho calling the shots, there’s certainly a high expectation to see how Falcao is going to perform and help Chelsea to another Premier League title. The Portuguese coach is one of the best managers in the history of this game to get the best out of the players he has at his disposal and it’s going to be really interesting to see what is going to be done in London in order to bring Falcao back from the ashes…